playbunny75

Hello

We started onthe process of looking for a builder back in August come Oct we were going to go with Porter Davis but by chance came across Northridge homes a week later and changed our minds.We were happier with the fit on the block i.e more garden all the way aorund and also I loved the kitchen.We paid a deposit early Novemeber and are still not even close to contract stage yet.I feel frustrated it is taking so long.I know we had christmas in bewteen but nothing seems to be happening even now everything is back to normal.We went for a tender before christmas and the site costs came back at $14,000 so we have tried to get the price down a bit.They will not drop the price at all not sure if this is normal of all builders.We thought maybe they might have knocked a bit off but it's not looking that way.They ahve also charged us for rock removal even though rock has never been found they say we will get it back when house is completed if they don't find any has anyone heard of this?

We are building with northridge homes but they are part of Henley so all the paperwork is done by them and so far I ask them a question and they don't seem to have any answers im not sure I have got the confience to carrry on with them.I would be intrested to hear from anyone who has built with Henely.We were going to be upgrading a few things in the house and asked them if the price of what would be put in would be deducted.They came back with it's not our policy to give out that information.This seems maddness we want to put in a spa bath and want to know if they deduct the price of the bath they would put in if not we may not want to go ahead as in effect we would be paying twice.

I am wondering if it is worht all the hassle of builidng please tell me it is???

avroncotton

Sound like a bunch of cowboys to me!

Buzzy--Bee

Recent threads on the subject seem to have concluded that financially, the best thing to do is buy a "nearly new" house, ie second owners on a house a few years old.

However if you want a house built to your own specification and requirements, and don't want to have to make do with someone else's design, I'd build.

If you are planning on staying in the house for some time then the financial considerations are irrelevant anyway.

Cheers

Buzzy

graceyg

We just built, we signed the contract within a week, and then the base was laid 2 months later, construction was 14 weeks and we are now in. Extremely happy with the finished product. What exactly are the charges for?????

graceyg

also anything they discover during excavation, should be dealt with at that time. IE a site meeting to discuss and show the client what is causing the problem. They can't just charge you for things they may or may not find???? try and speak to somebody official and get plenty of advice on the LAW as there are strict guidelines. If you haven't signed a contract you may be able to get the deposit back???

If you have picked a plot of land that may need a lot of clearing and maximum foundations put in, then maybe the 14k will be right but I still think its too much.

Also our builder deducted the stuff we didn't have and simply added the new product on. Ask them to supply invoices? Ours were happy to.

Exile

We're building in WA, and building with the company we chose (a BGC group company, chosen after extensive research) ranks among the worst decisions I ever made. Two years of stress and frustration and still counting. You really can't do too many of these in a lifetime (the stress would kill me anyway).

Depends on the builder obviously, but it seems in WA there are very few good ones. You have to go over all contracts, plans, and addenda with a fine-toothed comb and assume total idiotic incompetence at every step of the way. No quality control whatsoever other than the owner (me) spotting mistakes (plenty of them, and big ones too). The worst thing is, they just don't care. It's this attitude that really kills me.

We built so we could get what we wanted, but it is probably not going to be. In our case, definitely not worth it. We may end up in court.

May be worth it for others. I would say just be very careful who you build with and bail out ASAP if you encounter problems early in the process. Generally doesn't bode well for what's to come.

playbunny75

We are so confused at this stage what to do my husband what to carry on and build with Henely but I am not sure at all and even wondering if we should forget the whole idea hold on to the block for a year or so and carry on renting with the hope the land may increase in value.We asked Henley to get back to us on friday with answers to our questions but no luck im afraid!

playbunny75

We need a cut and fill there is less than 2 metres fall and there is no trees on block.The block came back as "m" from soil survery but htey need to put extra concrete down to protect a water pipe which adds alot more to the cost.

Exile

That's the other thing that drives me nuts about these builders -- they keep you hanging on and never get back to you when they say they will. If you're late with a payment though, they'll jump on you straight away.They don't deserve to have customers.

Based on my experience, if I was in your position and could get out of the contract without losing too much, I would. As a result of bitter experience, I now have a zero tolerance policy for that kind of slackness on the part of people to whom you are paying a great deal of money.

That said, you need a crystal ball. It may turn out okay in the end, and it may be worth putting up with the stress for a few months (not two years though) if you get a better house for your money at the end of it. Could be worth sticking with it if you think you can get them to shape up, and that it would create even more trouble to bail out at this stage. Ours seems to be quite an extreme case.

We will have a house that's worth a lot more than we paid, as it's based on prices two years ago. That's the only positive thing. In our case, though, I no longer want to live in the house as to me it just represents two years of stress and anguish, and the feeling of being sucked in and ripped off by incompetent and unscrupulous people.

fraser

Do you have the soil test results, if not demand them and tell them you're going to take them to another builder.

Tell them you're not happy with the way you've been treated and you're going to explore other avenues.

If they don't give an inch ditch them, they (Henley) don't have the best reputation.

cresta57

We've just built a new home. We sat down and drew out what we wanted and what would fit easily onto the block. We then approached a few builders we had done work for and they quoted on the drawing that Deb had drawn up freehand. Out of the 4 quotes we got one was really high and after taking to the builder he was really busy and couldn't commit to our place for months. The others were all within a few thousand of each other and we simply chose the one that offered the highest spec i.e hardwood verandas instead of treated pine etc.
The builder we chose had Deb's plan drawn up by an architect and after the soil tests came back we signed up and away they went. We had no hidden extras and the build price was exactly as per the contract with the omission of the tiling that we did and the kitchen that our own cabinet maker supplied.
We chose ceiling fans in all the bedrooms and 2 in the living area and three way light, heat, fans in the bathrooms and toilets. They all came at no extra cost to us. All in we're really pleased with the finished product and had only a couple of snags on our list. These have been sorted out and we had the final inspection on Thursday [despite having lived in the house for a month already] Not many builders would have let us in while we owed them the final stage payment.
Regarding the extra charges you've been informed about: Most project builders have some kind of rock clause in the contract that they impose upon discovering rock while cutting or excavating for the drainage. Normal procedure is that they must stop work and inform you of the find, this gives you the opportunity to get your own rock breaker in, should you want to.
It's not normal to charge you in advance for something impossible to quantify.
The 14k for site costs is about average and usually includes the cost of drainage and slab construction to the point where the chippies can start framing.
We do a lot of work for Tamawood who had a shocking reputation a couple of years ago. I wouldn't have recommended them to anyone, When my oldies built with them [2 yrs ago] it took 11 months to build their house. Things have changed now and the homes they build are as good as any of the other project builders. The supervisor we have in this area is superb he misses nothing and if a problem occurs he has it fixed immediately. I cannot fault the finish on the last few houses we've done for them and for the price they are excellent. Completion time has been about 12/14 weeks from cut to handover always a bonus if your renting and paying a mortgage on the stage payments.

spiral tribe

While this may be true for some areas and homes it is a generalisation and like all generalisations it is not generally true.

We are building a four bedroom home on a 800sqm block in the western suburbs of Brisbane for around $100k less than the average house of a similar spec on a similar block in the area.

My advice to anyone building a house out here is do your homework, lots of it and work out what is best for you as a family. It will take considerably longer to build a house but at least it is brand new with a guarantee and it is exactly as you want it.

Good luck to all those who are building this year.

Buzzy--Bee

Here in the UK on commercial building projects it is normal for the buyer to inspect at the end of the build and produce a snagging list.

The snags are then corrected before final payment is made.

Can you do this on home builds in Oz?

Cheers

Buzzy

playbunny75

We have actually taken the plans to porter davis as we orgianlly did like one of there houses they have said the site costs would be $16,000 so more again.We still really like the northridge house but all the paperwork has to be done by henely who appear to be a right bunch of tossers at the moment!

Rachel1978

Our site costs were huge with them as you know, maybe try playing hardball with Henley and threaten to pull out. We managed to get some money off using this tactic. They should at least be returning your calls and discussing costs with you.

At the end of the day you need to be confident in them, if your not maybe consider pulling out, there are other builders. Life is simply not worth the stress.